Georgia Utility Connection Costs (2026): Tap Fees by City

In Georgia, official one-time water and sewer connection charges for a new single-family home with a 3/4-inch meter installed by the utility range from $2,155 in Savannah to $7,525 in Marietta, more than three times as much, with Atlanta in between at about $2,295. The three cities do not even price the same things: Atlanta has had no separate water or sewer impact fee since 1995 and mostly charges for the meter and sewer permits; Savannah’s 2026 Revenue Ordinance adds a reclaimed water fee on top of its tap-ins; Marietta has no capacity/impact fee structured by home size, but its flat $6,000 combined sewer charge dwarfs the other two cities’ sewer-side costs. Our database covers Atlanta, Savannah and Marietta so far. Other Georgia utilities are not yet collected, and we say so rather than guess.

Official fees in Georgia

The table below lists every verified Georgia fee row in our database, with utility, meter size and a link to the source document. Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management (DWM) and Savannah’s Water & Sewer Bureau both price water and sewer as separate line-item charges rather than a single capacity buy-in. Marietta Power & Water is different again: its water side is priced by meter size, but its sewer side is two flat, meter-independent charges — a Sewer Development Fee and a 6-inch tap installation fee — that add up to $6,000 no matter the meter size or house size.

City comparison

2026 official one-time water + sewer charges for one single-family home, 3/4-inch meter (sources: Atlanta water and sewer tap fees; Savannah water and sewer tap-in fees; Marietta tap and sewer development fees).

How the rows are built. Atlanta: water meter installation fee $1,200 (city-installed, “RR-SS” price) + sewer capacity certification $600 + sewer plan review and site inspection $230 + sewer connection inspection $250 + account establishment fee $15 = $2,295. Savannah: AMI water meter $525 + water tap-in fee $600 + sewer tap-in fee $400 + reclaimed water project connection fee $600 + account establishment fee $30 = $2,155. Marietta: water meter/tap fee $1,500 + Sewer Development Fee $3,500 + 6-inch sewer tap installation $2,500 + new-account charge $25 = $7,525. For the lowest-total row, Atlanta swaps in the $400 private-contractor meter price with the same sewer charges ($400 + $600 + $230 + $250 + $15 = $1,495); Savannah uses the owner-occupied exemption on existing lines, which waives the $600 water tap-in and the $600 reclaimed water fee, leaving $525 meter + $400 sewer tap-in + $30 account fee = $955; Marietta swaps in the $500 subdivision “drop” meter price for a lot with the service already stubbed ($500 + $3,500 + $2,500 + $25 = $6,525).

Split the totals apart and Marietta’s gap is almost entirely sewer. Atlanta’s sewer-side charges total $1,080 (capacity certification + plan review/site inspection + connection inspection), and Savannah’s sewer tap-in fee is $400. Marietta’s combined sewer charge — the $3,500 Sewer Development Fee plus the $2,500 6-inch tap installation — is $6,000, a flat charge that does not change with meter size or house size the way Atlanta’s and Savannah’s fees can.

City pages with the full fee rows, payment timing and local caveats: Atlanta water and sewer tap fees, Savannah water and sewer tap-in fees and Marietta tap and sewer development fees.

What decides your number

• Which city and utility serves the lot. Atlanta DWM, Savannah’s Water & Sewer Bureau and Marietta Power & Water each price connections on entirely different schedules. Atlanta has charged no separate water or sewer impact fee since Ordinance 1995-79 repealed it in January 1995. Marietta has no capacity fee tied to home size at all, but its flat $6,000 sewer charge applies to every 3/4-inch connection regardless.
• Who built the service stub. On a subdivision lot where the developer already ran the line, Marietta’s water charge drops from $1,500 to a $500 “drop” price. Savannah waives its water tap-in and reclaimed water fees for an owner-occupied home on existing lines. Atlanta’s private-contractor meter price ($400) is lower than its city-installed price ($1,200), but you then pay your own contractor for the tap and service line.
• Meter size. A 1-inch meter instead of 3/4-inch adds $200 to Atlanta’s city-installed price, $50 to Savannah’s AMI meter, and $300 to Marietta’s tap price. Marietta’s $6,000 sewer charge does not move with meter size.
• Which utility actually bills you in Marietta. The Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (CCMWA) sells treated water wholesale to other utilities and does not bill or serve retail homeowners. City of Marietta Power & Water is the retail utility that bills the tap fees above; confirm you are quoting the right one.
• How current the schedule is. Atlanta’s and Savannah’s figures come from schedules checked and, for Savannah, adopted within the last year. Marietta’s tap-fee schedule is dated effective January 1, 2022, with no newer version found as of September 2026 despite a diligent search, so we flag its rows “Confirm with utility”. Get a written quote from Marietta Power & Water before budgeting from this page.

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

Other state hubs: North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado and Arizona. Nearby cities: Charleston, SC, Nashville, TN and Huntsville, AL. Guides: tap fee vs. impact fee, cost to bring utilities to land, utility costs for new construction and tap fees by city.

Sources

• Atlanta, GA tap fees, Utility Cost Guide. Figures sourced from the Atlanta Code of Ordinances, Appendix B, and ATL311.
• Savannah, GA tap fees, Utility Cost Guide. Figures sourced from the City of Savannah’s 2026 Revenue Ordinance, Article U.
• Marietta, GA tap fees, Utility Cost Guide. Figures sourced from City of Marietta Power & Water’s Water Meter & Wastewater Tap Fees schedule (effective Jan 1, 2022, the latest version published) and CCMWA.
• National cost estimates: Utility Cost Guide benchmark methodology.